Retrospect of French Lilerature—Miscellanies. 
Military honours, are to be rendered 
to the Holy Sacrament; the rectors and 
vicars are to be appointed by the Presi- 
dent and Generalissimo, and the Apos- 
tolic Prefect: they alone are to preach 
the holy catholic, apostolic, and Roman 
religion, or adinimister the sacraments, 
within their own parishes. 
There is to be a tribunal of peace esta- 
blished in every parish, composed of a 
judge, two assessors, and a register; but 
no action for more than one hundred 
sourds, is tg be determined here, and it 
cannot decide finally, and without ap- 
peal, on any sum exceeding two hundred 
livres, ‘he judges of the peace im every 
parish are to keep a register of births, 
marriages, and deaths. : 
tn evcry arrondissement or circuit, there 
is to be a civil tribunal, which is to take 
cognizance of matters both civil and eri- 
minal ; there are also to be tmbunals of 
coramerce, &e. 
The act for regulating the succession of 
children to the property of their parents, 
abounds with a number of provisions, 
calculated fora particular state of society, 
As in Europe it is decreed, “ that natu- 
ral children cannot inherit the property 
of their parents as such; but they are al- 
lowed to succeed to the effects of collate- 
rals, and’ may be adopted by either fa- 
ther or mother, or both, Children spring- 
ing from anincestuous or adulterous com- 
merce, can never be recognized. 
No property is to be disposed of to any 
one at public auction, without the per- 
mission of the president; the cultivators 
are to be taken care of, during health and 
sickness, by the proprietor, who is to 
keep a scrupulous account of the profits, 
one fourth of which is to be delivered to 
them, and he is in every point of view to 
act as the real father of a family. None 
of the cultivators are to be decoyed from 
a plantation where they have established 
their residence, to any other spot, under 
the penalty of 200 gourds for every per- 
son so decoyed, w hether male or female. 
By the last law, included in this com- 
pilation, the former regulation, in conse- 
quence of which, ten per cent was levied 
on allsugars, cottons, and chocolate, is re- 
voked, and the council of states on the 
proposition of the president and gene- 
ralissimo, decree, that this duty ‘shall 
ie retained on coffee alone.’ No lupost 
whatever is to be demanded, on the arti- 
cles above enumerated, after the dst. of 
July, 1807. The tax, called “ quart de 
subvention.” hitherto imposed on the pro- 
perty of those who farm the lands of the 
651 
state, is suppressed, and they are thence- 
forth only to pay the sum agreed upon, 
Tt appears that Christophe has a nega- 
tive, in respect to every act; the follow- y 
ing is the concladi 1e formula adopted by 
him, 
“ We the preside nt and generalissimo 
of the forces by land and seaof the State 
of Haiti, have sanctioned, and hereby 
sanction the present law; we at the sane 
time ordain, that it shail be a accompanied 
by the impression of the great seal of that 
state, and publicly executed throughout 
the whole extent of the territory of Uaiti. 
“Given at the palace of the Cape, this 
2ist. of June, 1807, the Fourth Year of 
Independence.” 
- Henry Curisropue.” 
As the copy of an original letter from 
the black emperor, may gratify many of 
our readers, we here subjoin a short one, 
to the general who now contends with 
him for the dominion of Flaiti. 
“© Au quartier général de Milot, le 23 
Octobre 1806, l'un trots de Vindé- 
pendunce. 
Mon Camaranpt, 
‘ Je m’empresse de répondre a votre 
lettre du 16 du courant, qui vient de 
in’étre remise avec les exemplaires de la 
déclaration faite par les divisions du Sud 
et he Qé6me division de Quest. 
‘ Les griefs que vous exposés contre la 
Deis et les actes arbitraires dont novs 
avons été les témoins et les tristes vic- 
times, et qui nous placaient dans un état 
ue Hiullité sous le regne qui vient de pas- 
ser, meéritent la plus grand attention pour 
ne Pempire des lois dans notre pays. 
Les mesures que vous avez prises pour 
le maintien de ordre, des qu’ ‘elles étai- 
ent nécessaires, sont sages; j’ai agi de 
meme ici, en ordonnant, en ce moment, 
‘que les divisions da Nord, la premitre de 
Ouest, fussent payées et habillées. 
Paites connaitre a tous nos freres d’armes 
de ’armée du Sud et de !’OQuest, que j’ap- 
prouve la bonne conduite qu’ils ont tenus 
en cette circonstance, puisque Vordre n’a 
pas été troublé; ce qui doit toujours etre 
la base de notre Constitution. 
““ Le choix qu’ils ont fait de moi en 
m’appellant a la place honorable et péni- 
ble du gouvernement, imposent de gran- 
des obligations. Personne mieux que 
vous, mon Camarade, ne connait mes 
principes et mon désintéressement pour 
* The Editor is in possession of a file of the 
Gazettes of Haiti, which is as well printed as 
most of the newspapers of Europe. It con- 
sists of four pages, small quarto, 
tout 
